Friday, 15 January 2016

Zac Goldsmith has joined the army of people who have given up a luxury to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The Conservative mayoral candidate will go without champagne, caviar or quails' eggs for the rest of January in solidarity with the sick children at GOSH.

Mr Goldsmith said: “Great Ormond Street Hospital is one of our most extraordinary, most valued institutions. It gives hope to so many families, it saves young lives. It has become a byword for ground-breaking research, life-changing treatment, complete devotion to very sick children.

“So when the brilliant campaign — Give It Up For GOSH — asked me to give something up as a gesture of solidarity with the children at Great Ormond Street, I agreed. But I did so very much aware that nothing I could give up would match or even come close to what is asked of so many of the children who depend on the hospital.

“I am in the midst of a frantic election campaign and there’s little time for proper lunch or dinner. So I depend on quick snacks of caviar with a couple of quail's eggs washed down with a glass of champers. Giving them up is a tiny act of solidarity with some extremely brave children. Great Ormond Street is a wonderful cause, and it deserves our support.

"I've even persuaded my chauffeur to join in - so this month he's going without crisps and chocolate."